Separating-machine.



alfomwi S Patented May 11 II I.|I\...| III I IIIII lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll IIINII I IIIIIIIIIIII u.,

RENEWED SEPT. I9. 1914.

W. S. AYRES.

SEPABATING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. I3. 1907.

@XM/Www W. S. AYRES. SEPARATING MACHINE. APPLlcmoN FILED MAR. 13. 1907. nvENEwED SEPT. 19. 1914.

1,139,250. Patented May11,1915.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

THE NORRIS PETERS C0.. FHOTKLLITHO.. WASHINGTON, D. C.

w. s. AYRES.

SEPARATING MACHINE.

RENEWED SEPT.19,1914.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 13,1907. 1,139,250.

Patented May 11. 1915.

5 SHEETS-SHEET s.

l, 66S @WM/hoz;

@lfm/Emmen mjw,

THE NORRIS PETERS t0.. FHOZC-LITHU.. WASHINGTUN. D4 CA W. S. AYRES.

SEPARAING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILI-:D IIIAII. I3. 1907. IIEIIEwEn SEPT. I9, 1914.-

Ll 39,250. Patented May 11, 1915.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

nn AIy THE NORRIS PETERS C0.. PHUTU-LITHO.. WASHINGTON. D. C.

` w. s. AYRES.

SEPARATING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED IIIAR` 13.1907- RENEWED SEPT. 19. 1914.l

1,139,250 Patented May11,1915.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

atto/anew THE NORRIS PETERS C0., PHOrc-LITHO.. WASHINGTON. D. CY

WALLACE s. Avans, or HAZLETON, PENNSYLVANIA.

SEPARATING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

y Patented May 11, 1915.

Application led. March 13, 1907, Serial No. 362,169. Renewed September 1.9, 1914. Serial No. 862,594.

T0 all whom 'it may concern Be is known that I, VVALLAGE S. AYRns, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hazleton, in the county of Luzerne and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Separating-Machine, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to separating machines of that general type disclosed in my former Patents Nos. 798,315 and 798,385, both of which issued August 29, 1905. The patented machines were designed more particularly for the separation of coal from slate, but capable of the separation of any substances having different frictional resistances, angles of repose, or specific gravity. In general, these machines comprehend the employment of means whereby a stream of material is caused to pass over the surface of a floor which is inclined upwardly away from and in a direction transverse to the stream, and means whereby that portion of the stream having the greatest angle of repose will be carried upwardly out of the stream in a transverse direction toward the upper edge of the floor, whether by the movement of the floor itself or by other1 instrumentalities.

The primary object of my present invention is to provide a machine operating upon the same principle, but capable of effecting a series of separations or grading of the material according to the differences between the angles of repose or frictional resistances of the various portions thereof.

To this end the separating floor, while having a general upward inclination away from and transverse to the stream of material passing thereover, will be subdivided into Zones or planes of different inclinations,

y the angle of each Zone or plane corresponding substantially to the angle of repose of the particular portion of material to be separated thereby, each plane or zone thus determining the extent to which a particular portion of the material will be removed laterally from the main stream.

Another object of the invention is to adapt.

the machine for generalV separative uses by providing means whereby the several zones or planes of the separating floor may be adjusted for the purpose of varying their angular positions in accordance with the angles of repose of the particular substances to be separated.

To this end the table over which the movable floor is mounted is provided with adjusting devices or surfacers whereby those portions of the floor located in the various zones of separation will be compelled to assume predetermined angular positions.

A still further obj ect is to provide a light,

durable and inexpensive table or support for the floor. To this end an open metal frame comprislng metal angle bars, slats, and braces, is constructed for the accommodation of the rotary Hoor supports and is mounted upon a substantial frame which is adjustable upon a suitable base to vary the inclination of the table and thus the general inclination of the separating Hoor as a whole.

Another object of the invention is to provide simple and efficient means for adjusting the inclination of the table. This end is attained by mounting shaft supports adj ustably on a pair of swinging supports and by providing flexible connections between the table supporting frame and a shaft mounted in said supports, the shaft being provided with means for rotating the same for the purpose of effecting the secondary adjustment of the table, the initial adjustment of which is obtained by the adjustment of the shaft supports.

Other objects subordinate to those enumerated will appear more fully as the succeeding description of the illustrated embodiment of my invention is developed.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a plan view of one form of separating apparatus embodying the invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof viewed from the right hand side of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a sectional view designed more particularly to show the arrangement of the surfacers and the means for adjusting the same. Fig. 4 is an end view of the apparatus shown in Fig. l. Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the separating table and one series of surfacers, the endless floor and the supports therefor being indicated in dotted lines. Fig. 6 is a plan view of the separating table, the floor surfacers, andthe rotary floor supports. Fig. Tis an end view of the table, including the mountings for the shafts. Figs. 8 and 9 are detail views o-f the shaft-bearings, and Fig. l0 is an end elevation, partly in section, of a portion of the endless ioor.

By reference more particularly to Figs.

1, 2 and 4, it will be seen that the entire apparatus is supported upon a base 1 of openform comprising suitably united side and end timbers 2 and 3. Disposed above the base 1 is a floor supporting frame 4 inclined both longitudinally and transversely, as indicated in Figs. 2 and 4, and pivoted adjacent to the lower edge thereof to the adjacent edge of the base 3, as indicated at The frame 4 is designed to swing from the axis 5 for the purpose of varying the degree of its transverse inclination and is supported at its elevated or free edge by means adapted to be manipulated for the purpose of effecting the adjustment of the frame 4 and the separating mechanism mounted thereon in a manner to be described. This supporting and adjusting means comprises a pair of guide rods 6 pivotally connected at their lower ends to the right hand edge of the base 1, as indicated at 7, and extended upwardly through the end members of the frame 4, as seen in Fig. 2. The upper ends of the rods 6 are threaded for the attachment of shaft-supports or bearings 8 adjustable longitudinally of the rods 6 by reason of their threaded engagement therewith and serving to support the opposite ends of an adjusting shaft 9 operatively connected to the frame 4 by chains 10. It will be seen that the initial adjustment of the frame 4 and the mechanism carried thereby is secured by the adjustment of the shaft supports 8 upon the rods 6 and that a limited secondary adjustment may then be effected by rotating the shaftl 9 to wind the chains 10 thereon or to unwind said chains therefrom to effect the elevation or depression of the right hand end of the frame, as shown in Fig. 4. This rotary movement of the shaft 9 is effected by the manipulation of an adjusting lever 11 extending` radially from the shaft, as shown in Fig. 4, and provided with a latch 12 cooperating with a segment 13 having a series of openings 14 for the reception of the latch or pin and secured at its lower end to one of the guide rods 6. Obviously, however, the lever may be retained in its adjusted positions by means other than that shown. To prevent the dropping of the frame 4 in the event of the breakage of the chains 10 or other portions of its supporting mechanism, adjustable stops 15 in the form of set-collars are adjustably mounted on the rods 6 below the frame.

On the frame 4 is mounted the separating mechanism'proper, including what may be termed a separating table and` an endless separating floor the upper run of which passes over the table and constitutes the separating surface. The table, designated as a whole by 16, comprises end frames 17, longitudinal slats 18 connecting the end 65 frames, and a diagonal brace 19 extending between diagonally opposite corners of the table and serving in conjunction with the slats to maintain the end frames 17 in accurate parallelism. lThese several elements of the table are constructed of metal bars, certain or all of which may be angular in cross section. For instance, each end frame 17 comprises upper and lower angle bars 20 and 21, the bars 21 resting upon the end members of the frame 4 and the bars 2O being spaced above the bars 21 Yand having their horizontal flanges extended over and secured in any suitable manner to the ends of the slats 18 and the brace 19.

At the opposite ends of each end frame are located journal boxes 22 and 28. The box 22 at the left hand end of the frame, see Fig. 7, is slidably mounted in a guide frame 24 secured to the angle bars 20 and 21, as shown in Fig. 8, and serving both as an end member for the end frame 17 and also as a guide for the journal box 22. The box 22 is adjusted in a direction parallel with the table by a screw 25 carried by the guide frame 24 and operatively related to the box 22, as shown in Fig. 7. The box 23 at the opposite end of the end frame is not adjustable, but, on the contrary, its inner member is extended above and below the box and is permanently secured to the bars 2O and 21 so as to constitute the other end member for the end frame. It will be understood that both of the end frames 17 are constructed in the manner described and that the bearing boxes thereof are in alinement, the boxes at one side of the table being stationary and those at the otherr side being adjustable.

The table, constructed in the light substantial manner described, is designed to carry the rotary supports for the endless floor. These supports are in the form of shafts 26 and 27 extending longitudinally of the table at the opposite side edges thereof and journaled in the boxes 22 and 23. The shaft 26 at the lower edge of the table is equipped with a series ofsprocket wheels 28 equidistantly spaced `1on the shaft and secured thereto in any suitable manner, it being immaterial whether these sprockets are retainedon the shaft in a manner to permit their rotation thereon or are secured to the shaft to rotate therewith. Keyed or otherwise iixed upon the other shaft 27 is a corresponding series of sprocket wheels 29, which, however, are somewhat larger than the wheels 28 so that a line drawn between the upper sides of corresponding wheels at opposite sides of the table will be in angular relation to the surface of the latter. The sprocket wheels at opposite sides of the table are thus arranged in pairs and around each pair is passed an endless sprocket chain 30, the several chains constituting `carriers for an endless floor made up ofnarrow slats or floor sections 31 extending longitudinally of the table and each supported at different points by a link of each chain.

So far as the present invention is concerned, the specific form of separating floor is immaterial, since the construction herein illustrated and which has been made the subject of a separate application for patent has been selected for illustrative purposes merely, it being understood that any form of flexible floor, such for instance as those shown in my former patents above identified, may be employed in lieu thereof.

The endless iioor 31 may be driven in any suitable manner, but, as here shown, a belt wheel 32, which may be driven from any suitable source, is keyed to one end of the shaft 27. y Disposed at a longitudinal. angle over-the floor 31 is a guide 33 along which the stream of material is designed to gravitate from a feed hopper 34 to which the material to be separated is fed by a feed chute 35 indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1. The upper run of the separating floor advances in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1, and thus moves away from the guide 33 in an upward direction to the elevated edge of the floor. As the stream moves along the guide, whether by gravity or otherwise, that portion of the material, as for instance coal, having a less angle of repose than the transverse inclination of the ioor adjacent to said guide will continue inthe main stream until deposited in the discharge chute 36 extending from the lower end of the table adjacent to the end of the guide. That portion of the stream as for instance slate, which on the contrary, has a greater angle of repose than the transverse inclination of the iioor, will be carried upwardly and out of the main stream by the movement of the floor and will be carried over the elevated edge of the latter and deposited in a second discharge chute 37, but for convenience of description the chutes 36 and 37 will be termed the coal chute and the slate chute respectively, since the present apparatus, .while not restricted to such use, has been especially designed for the separation of coal and slate.

The principle of separation has been advanced in my Patent No. 7 98,385, but it will benoted that as thus far described a single separation is contemplated. One of the primary objects of the present invention, as heretofore stated, is to effect a series of separations or a grading of the material into more than two grades or kinds. To accomplish this end it is only necessary to provide means whereby the surface of the separating floor will be divided into longitudinal fields or Zones each having a different transverse inclination according to the different angles of repose of the various the plane I) however, is not greater thanthe angle of repose of the bony-coal and therefore the latter, while gravitating longitudinally of the floor, will be carried out of the `main stream by the movement of the floor until it reaches the adjacent edge of the plane c, but it will not .be carried therebeyond by the transverse movement of the table because the inclination of the plane c is greater than the angle of repose of the bony coal. The latter will therefore gravitate from the lower end of the'plane b and into the bony-cal chute 38 extended from the discharge end of the table opposite said plane. 1n like manner still another grade of material, to-wit, the bone, will be carried out of the stream in an upward direction, but will pass beyond the planes a and b to the plane c and will be discharged into the bone chute 39 opposite said field. Thebone will not pass to the plane' d, however, because the transverse inclination of the latter is greater than the angle of repose of the bone, but a still further grade, to-wit, the bony slate, will be carried up to the field al and will be deposited in the bony slate chute 1- 0, for the reason that it will gravitate longitudinally of the floor more rapidly than the slate, which latter, before it reaches the end of the table, will be carried over the upper edge of the latter and permitted to gravitate to the slate chute 37.

It will thus be seen that while the principle of operation of the present machine is the same as that underlying the operation of the patented machines, the subdivision of the floorI which moves upwardly and transversely away from the main stream of material, into different planes of successively greater transverse inclination enables me to eifect the successive separation or grading of the material into as many grades as there are different angles of repose, the number of separations depending only on the number of planes into which the floor is subdivided and the fineness of the separation depending only upon the degree of relative inclination of adjacent fields.

Any desired means for compelling the different portions or fields of the ioor surface to move in different planes may be employed, so far as my invention in its broader aspects is concerned, but I have vdevised a simple and eflicient mechanism whereby the separating floor may be properly surfaced and the transverse inclinations of the several fields or Zones easily adjusted or changed in order to adapt the machine for any desired character of separation. Below the upper run of each chain 31 but extending longitudinally thereof, or transversely of the floor, is a series of floor surfacers 41, 42, 43 and 44, see-Figs. 5 and G. Each of these surfacers is in the form of a plate approximately corresponding in length with the width of the particular field or zone of the floor to be surfaced by it. These surfacers may be separate and independent, but by preference are hingeclly connected, as indicated in F ig. 5, and each surfacer is provided with an adjusting device preferably in the form of an adjusting screw 45 screwed through one of the slats of the separating table 16 and constituting a support for the surfacer. It will thus be seen that, as the upper run of the separating floor 31 is carried by those portions of the chains which travel over the surfacers, said plane, as it passes over a given surfacer, will vassume the inclination of the latter., i

It is thought that from the foregoing, the construction, operation, and many advantages of my present invention will be clearly coinprehended, but while the illustrated embodiment of the invention is believed at this time to be preferable, I desire to reserve the right to effect such changes, modifications, and variations of the illustrated structure as may come fairly within the scope of the protection prayed.

What I claim is 1. In a separator, a'separating floor having its surface made in a plurality of individually planate and unobstructed sections connected edge to edge, each section being laterally inclined to a greater degree than the inclination of the preceding section and all sections being also longitudi-y nally inclined; and means for discharging material upon the higher end of one of the laterally lower sections.

2. In a separat-or, a separating floor longitudinally inclined and having a general transverse inclination in a direction at substantially right angles to such longitudinal inclination, the floor having its surface made up of individual sections connected edge to edge and located in a plurality of angularly related planes, and means for discharging a stream of material upon a lower section and over the floor in a direction corresponding approximately to the aforesaid longitudinal inclination.

3. In a separator, a traveling separating floor longitudinally inclined and having its surface located in a plurality of planes inclined with reference to each other and in a direction at substantially right 'angles to such longitudinal inclination.

4. In a separator, a separating floor longitudinally inclined and transversely inclined in a direction approximately at right angles to such longitudinal inclination, said floor having its surface made up of a plurality of planes disposed edge to edge and each of which is inclined in a different degree in a direction approximately at right angles to the aforesaid longitudinal inclination, means for moving said `floor toward the highest plane, and means for discharging, a stream of material upon the lower plane in a direction approximately in line with such longitudinal inclination.

5. In a separator, a traveling separating iioor formed in sections, means for discharging a stream of material over the floor in a given direction, said floor being inclined in approximately the same direction and in a direction approximately at right angles thereto,l and means for causing certain sections of thefloor to arrest the passage ofa given portion of the stream of material.

6. In a. separator, an endless separating ioor formed in sections, means for discharging a stream of material over the floor in a given direction, said floor being inclined in approximately the same direction and in a direction approximately at right angles thereto, means for causing the lower sections of the upper run of the ioor to travel ina direction toward those sections located at a given time in a higher plane, and meansfor causing certain sections of the floor to arrest the passage of a given portion of the stream kof material.

7. In a separator, the combination with a separating floor, of means for causing a stream of material to traiferse the floor in one direction, said ioor being inclined longitudinally and transversely and having its surface located in a plurality of longitudinal planes each having a different transverse inclination, and means for imparting motion to the floor for moving a portion ofy the material upwardly away from the stream in a direction transverse thereto..

S. In aI separator, the combinationwith an inclined separatingfloor, of means for causing a stream of material to pass thereover kin a well defined path, said iioor having a portion of its surface vlocated in a plurality of longitudinal planes, each successive `plane toward the upper edge of the Hoor being inclined in greater degree, means for so moving said iioor that those portions of the material whose angles of repose are greater than the inclination of the floor adjacent to the stream will be withdrawn laterally from the stream and moved outward therefrom, and means for arresting guide, of devices arranged in different` planes for opposing the action of gravity on a portion of the material whereby a plurality of separations of those portions of the stream having different angles of repose will be eiiected.

10. In a separator, the combination with a separating iioor, of a guide disposed obliquely thereover, said floor being downwardly inclined toward the guide and having its surface located in a plurality of longitudinal iields or Zones, which fields or zones beginning with the one nearest the guide are successively transversely inclined in greater degree, means for delivering material to the floor atone end of the guide, and means for delivering a portion of the material from each field or zone independently of the others.-

11. In a separator, a separating floor inclined longitudinally and transversely and adapted to operate on a stream of material caused to travel thereover in a longitudinal direction, the surface of said ioor being divided into a series of longitudinal fields or Zones, each successive field or Zone beginning with the lowest of the series being transversely inclined in greater degree, a guide following the longitudinal inclination of the floor to support and guide the material urged toward the guide by gravity, and means for moving the floor upwardly and away from the guide in a lateral direction.

12. In a. separator, a iexible separating floor and a series of independent adjustable surfacing devices supporting the same, said devices as a series presenting a substantially continuous surface.

13. In a separator, the combination with an endless separating floor, of a series of independently adjustable surfacing devices supporting the upper run of the floor and serving to locate different portions of said upper run in angularly related planes, said devices as a series presenting a substantially continuous surface. Y

11i. In a separator, the combination with anvendless separating floor having its upper run inclined both longitudinally and transversely; ofa series of independently adjustable surfacing devices supporting said upper run and serving to locate successive portions thereof in transversely inclined planes of successively greater degree of inclination, said devices as a series presenting a substantially continuous surface.

15. In a separator, a separating floor, a supporting structure therefor, a pair of swinging rods, means carried by the rods for adjusting the supporting structure, and stops adjustable upon the rods below the supporting structure to prevent the latter from falling in the event of the derangement of the adjusting mechanism.

16. In a separator, a traveling separating ioor made in sections connected edge to edge and inclined both longitudinally and laterally, means for feeding a stream of material onto the higher ends of said sections and guiding it obliquely across the floor toward the low end and low edge of said sections, means fory moving the sections laterally and upwardly away from said guiding means, and receptacles for the material along the low end and high edge of the sections.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

' WALLACE S. AYRES. Witnesses:

FRANK R. FURMAN, I-I. C. GLJEM.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ive cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. C. 

